Future Warrior (Reborn)
by Mining300
Summary: (A Rewritten Version of one of my first Stories, Revamped and Revised) For Sixteen years the Regime has controlled the desolate land of what remains of China. The Son of two of the most powerful warriors has had enough and wants to find out what Project Xodara is. The Universe, however, seems to stand in his way. (Past TiPo)(Criper? Viane? Crane x Viper)
1. Chapter 1

Legend told of the day a powerful warrior would be born. A dragon among mortals, power hailing from the stories of old. A being with power beyond normal comprehension. Chi more powerful than most before him, only under his wife and her father. Strength second to only one. History told of his kindness, his desire to help others. He had conquered every aspect of himself to protect and serve. The legend of a warrior, was one of a kind. The Dragon Warrior. The Warrior of Black and White.

Legend did not tell of his _premature_ death. Paw cold against the floor, a raging fire burning around him. A collapsing home crashing all around him. Almost a full day would go by until the body was found. Half a year would go by until he was buried. It had been ruled that he had choked on the smoke, but _**they**_ knew better.

Slowly and surely, the kung fu world was dying. He had been the first, the first to parish for this new world of devastation. Thousands would die and any civilized world that existed in China would fall into chaos. An Order— no . . . _**Regime**_ , would take over the surface. They purged who they sought fit. First, they destroyed the Jade Palace and the warriors there and then, they destroyed the Temporal Gate.

They spread across China, influencing who they could and destroying those who refused. The leaders of the Regime, the Talons, had no _mercy_. They sought to destroy and conquer. After the Dragon Warrior's death, they finally had the room to stretch their legs. However, had they known he had a son, they might have killed him off with the mother of the child. Instead, he and a select of Kung Fu Masters survived to fight another day.

* * *

 _Damn fools._ The tiger's eyes glanced around the corner, watching the armored soldiers moved about, searching buildings with half-effort, looking for victims. They knew the village was empty, but their protocol forced them to keep searching. Their mistake was not checking behind them. He snuck around the corner and slid up to another wall, effectively blocking him off from their view. His tail _swished_ from side to side.

Literally everyone he knew would be upset as soon as he returned to his 'home'. Freedom was no longer a value. Staying close to the herd was of top priority. He frowned, that also meant not getting anything done. Speaking of getting things done . . . _this_ was going nowhere. When he had first started following this pack he had thought they were collecting supplies from Project Xodara, but he was mistaken. He should have left. He had planned on it, but his gut told him to stay. Or was it his heart? He never could tell the difference.

They scanned another building before moving on and he played catch-up. _Project Xodara._ Truthfully, he had no idea what it was. Once he had found a file on a group of soldiers he 'took care of' and it peaked his interest. The supplies for this project took top priority and if the Regime wanted something . . . it was his responsibility to hinder them in any and every way possible.

He considered it payback for what the Regime took from him. A normal life? Happiness? Parents? All of the above. He grit his teeth. Just thinking about it made his blood boil in rage. And then . . . _Shifu._ It was his reasoning that they should stay locked up underground. _Survival above all else._ He would have snorted if he hadn't been sneaking around. The Regime had taken everything away from them and yet Shifu acted like a coward.

And then there were his 'Uncle and Aunt'. Masters Crane and Viper. Literally the only couple to survive this _war_. Them and their daughter Lily, whom he didn't actually mind. He had practically been raised by the two, he . . . loved them like a family. However, he couldn't excuse their blind following of Shifu. He allowed himself a small sigh. They were at war, the least they could do would be acting like it.

His ears twitched as one of the soldiers said they found something. He peeked around the corner as they started ripping open a door. Now that he thought about it, no doors should've been locked or even close. _A survivor._ He had to do something and it wouldn't be walking the other way or ignoring it. He peeled himself from the corner and stalked forward as they ripped the door of wall. _It was now or never._

He punched forward, his tunic rufling from the sudden jump in velocity. The soldiers were usually wolves or rhinos. A water buffalo turned to him as he slammed his fist into their face. They went spinning into the wall, falling limp to the floor. _Neat. Never seen one of those before._ The rest of the squad turned to him. A wolf raised his sword and swung it at him. He sidestepped it and slammed his fist into their gut.

He fought to keep his bloodlust under control.

He grabbed them by the wrist and squeezed just hard enough to almost break his wrist. He _hated_ the Regime, but he had been taught to only kill as a resort. He was having _trouble_ following that rule. He swiftly chopped them in the neck, causing them to fall over. He made short work of the Rhino that decided it was indeed a good idea to charge him. Three punches to be exact.

Still, he wanted blood. He _craved_ it. He wanted them to pay.

Good thing there were two more soldiers. A wolf charged him. The sword barely missed it's target, but he knew that there was never a chance for it to hit home. He grabbed the wolf's wrist and squeezed as hard as he could. This time he broke their hand. They screamed and he pulled them closer, lifted his knee, and raised his arm above his head, ready to crunch the arm between his arm and leg. "Wait, wait, wait!" The tiger stopped andeyed the wolf with distaste. "Please don't break my arm."

His eyes hardened with pure hatred. _How dare? The Regime was all he hated and despised an yet this man begged for mercy._ " _ **Sure . . . I won't break your arm.**_ " He lowered his arm and leg and shoved the wolf's arm off to the side. He grabbed the wolf's head with both of his paws and easily snapped his neck. _Like a twig._ "Was that any better?" His eyes turned to his next target, another wolf. As soon as their eyes met the wolf dropped his weapon. "You! Tell me what you found."

The wolf was panicking. He found it quite annoying, "I— well, we f-found— ah— "

He narrowed his eyes, "Spit it out already!"

"These houses shouldn't be boarded up. Someone's here who shouldn't be." He whimpered.

The tiger stepped closer, "That's all I needed to know." He unsheathed his claws, making the soldier take a step back.

"Ah! Wait! I thought you Hero types were supposed to be merciful!" That only anger him and he growled. "I promise I don't have a choice! I had to join!" He took another step closer.

"Everyone has a choice." _. . . including me. Dammit._ He stopped his advance. He didn't have to kill this . . . how old was he anyway. He looked kinda young to be part of the Regime. He sighed and unsheathed his claws. He could kill him, he really could. His body craved it, but mercy had been drilled in him. "Fine. You can go— on one condition!" He leapt forward, landing directly in front of the man, snout to snout. "You leave the Regime and go somewhere else— anywhere else."

"B-b-but I can't j-just— "

He grabbed the wolf by the from of the uniform he was wearing, "Deal?!"

"D-deal!"

He let go of the wolf, "Get out of my sight." He watched as the wolf immediately scampered off. He turned to the building. A large hole in the wall had appeared since they ripped the door out of it's socket. He walked forward, his ears twitching at the slight sound of a light whimper. He had a gut-wrenching feeling hit him as soon as he walked in. Laying in the corner was a child, coiled in on themselves and whimpering.

One word shot through his mind, rocoshaying and coming back to echo through his consciousness. _Shit._

He slowly walked over to the child. Even he wouldn't leave a child here. Besides . . . he was a curious cat. The child was a bunny, and seemingly alone. It was in that moment he realized that maybe y'know being a tiger wasn't the best for this. "Kid . . ." The kid froze and titled his gaze to look up at him. "You okay? Are you hurt?"

The kids gaze rested on his face for a couple of seconds. "Are . . . are you Master Tigress?"

He froze. This kid just asked if he was his _dead_ mother. "Ah . . . no."

The child stiffened, "Are you here to hurt me?"

"No." He bent down, "My mother was Master Tigress. Please, don't be scared." The child's eyes softened. "Are you alone? Where are your parents?"

The childs lips quivered, "Mom and Dad siad they'd only be gone for a bit. Said they would come get me once it was over."

"It?"

The child whimpered, "I haven't seen them since yesterday." The hopeless look in his eyes brightened, "But I know where they went!"

"You do?" He thought for a moment. He could help this kid, but he could also just take them back to the shelter. He stared into the kids eyes. He sighed, he really didn't have a choice. "Alright. I'll help you find your parents." He picked the rabbit up and set him in his arms, just as his grandparents used to do to him. "What's your name?"

"X-Xun."

He nodded, "Xun, close your eyes for me."

The rabbit looked up at him, "Why?"

"Trust me." He waited until the rabbit closed his eyes before he walked of the building, stepping over the bodies of the vanquished. He made sure he rounded a corner before he told the boy it was okay to open his eyes. "Where did they go?"

"Home." And so they boy started giving him directions to their old homestead. Apparently his parents had went back for supplies, or so he figured. The kid had spoke about "old family books". Old pictures of the family's past. He hadn't asked deeper, but something seemed wrong. His parents hadn't come back for him. _Not a good sign._ Suddenly the boy spoke up, apologizing for mistaking him for Master Tigress.

"It's fine, Xun. I am curious thought, Master Tigress hasn't really been around for awhile." _A long time._ "How did you know what she looked like?"

"My mom said she was a warrior with stripes, pointy ears, and sharp teeth."

"Oh." Apparently this kid wasn't afraid of sharp teeth or pointed claws. In fact, he seemed kind of thrilled by it. "She said Master Tigress would keep us safe." _A bedtime story to keep the children from feeling scared, maybe?_ "You did though. Did she send you?"

"Kinda." _From a certain point of view she put me down this path, I guess._ He rounded the last courned he needed to make. His eyes locked onto a two story building with it's door bashed in. Unlike the others, the door had extra wood planks nailed into it, torn at the edges. That was the house. He was sure of it. "This one?"

When Xun nodded, he walked to the opposite side of the street and set him down. "Hey!" He eyed the kid briefly, his eyes hard and unforgiving. Xun bit his tongue as the tiger leaned in.

" _ **Stay here.**_ "

Xun nodded as he stood to his feet and turned around and started to cross the street. "Mister?"

He stopped and turned his head, "What?"

"What's your name?"

"Jie Long."

Xun smiled and nodded and the son of the two mightiest warriors got to work.

Jie Long walked into the building and immediately grabbed his nose. There was a heavy stench in this house. One that didn't like. He already knew what was at the end of the scent trail, but one could never be too sure. Not in this case. He followed the smell, having to go up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. Once he got to the last set of doors he could already imagine the crying child. He pushed open the door and was greeted with exactly what he expected. _Brutal death._

Two rotting bodies were sprawled across the ground, slashed open with what appeared to be some kind of blade. _Of course._ This wasn't surprising. He had stumbled across many victims of the Regime, all brutal as this one. Each one had increased his anger and rage, but . . . this was different. There was a kid waiting for him to bring back his _very dead_ parents. He sighed, another kid without parents. _**Great.**_

He walked forward and bent down. The mom was wearing a necklace around her neck. It looked like it could flip open. He carefully removed it from her neck and held it up. Thankfully it was clean of blood. He clicked a small button on the side and it flipped open. _His hearts sunk._ There was a small painting of the kid with his parents. _Oh . . . Xun._

He made his way back to the kid, a bit more swiftly than he would have done normally. But . . . the stench made his nose curl up in disgust. The necklace was clenched in his paw. He still had no idea how he was going to let the kid know. He though for a moment, how would he like to find out his parent died?

Bitterly he thought, _does it matter? They're dead. Always will be._ He shook his head. This was no time to bring his own sorrow and loss into this. This kid had _known_ his parents. His loss would be harder to deal with than Jie Long's. He walked outside and turned his head to the kid. "Good . . . you didn't run off on me."

Xun took one look at the necklace in his paw and turned away from him. "They're dead, aren't they?" He started to sniffle, "I knew it! I just knew it."

Jie Long slowly sat down next to the bunny. He didn't know how to deal with this situation so he held the necklace out to Xun. "This is yours."

The bunny stared at it before taking it slowly into his paws. He clutched it, not daring to open it up. Tears rolled down his cheek, but he refused to full blown cry. "Do . . . do warriors cry?"

For the first time since they met Jie Long could answer a question without thinking about it twice. " _ **Every day.**_ "


	2. Chapter 2

Jie Long had to admit. _Xun was strong._ Not so much physically, as the tiger himself was, but Xun had refused to be carried a second time. After he had cried— Jie Long suspected he wouldn't shed tears again in the near future— he had wanted to walk _alongside_ Jie Long. He couldn't help but admire the kid for that. And . . . in a way, it reminded him of himself. He remembered all the mind-numbing training he had done over the years.

When he first found out about his true parents and their deaths, _he didn't cry_. He had been taught he needed to get stronger from the day he could throw a punch, but that was the day he realized that a soft heart lead to weakness. He trained out his grief. He _brutalized_ his body in an effort to forget. He subconsciously narrowed his eyes as they walked. When he had recovered, his inner-most pain of loss didn't dwindle. And so, he kept on with this training.

He knew no one like his training regiment. They had been very vocal about it since day one, but he couldn't care less. _Strength_ was what he needed to survive. But, the training didn't help him forget.

The two stopped at the base of the mountain. They were a couple hours out of the Valley of Peace, standing in front of a cave that echoed into the mountain. He could smell the fear coming from the child. "Stay strong." With that final word, he walked into the darkness. Xun couldn't see in the dark, not like he could. So the child followed what little he could see, the tip of Jie Long's tail.

It didn't take long for Jie Long to reach the end of the 'cave'. He came across a large metal door, with a circle bar-handel in the middle of the door. He gripped the sides of the bar and twisted it. It made a loud screeching noise and several thuds could be heard from the door. It stiffened and he pulled on the door, dragging it across the ground. Xun backed up bit from the noise, unsure as to what it actually was.

"Forward." As soon as he was sure Xun was inside, he closed the door and returned the handle to lock the door. He turned around and walked the past the kid, walking through a wooden door frame with no door. He skidded to a stop. Harsh blue eyes stared back at him and his frown only deepened. _Of course it was so soon._ He took a deep breath, running his mind through a series of scenarios before finally opening his mouth to talk to _Master Viper_. "I know what you're going to say, but I promise you won't be mad."

He was pretty sure her eyes couldn't narrow any further. "Do tell."

Jie Long stepped to the side, "Master Viper meet Xun." He folded his arms across his chest as soon as Viper's eyes landed on the child. Her glare melted off her face and her eyes softened. He could so easily push his point about their need for patrol through the village, but he choose to say nothing.

"Are you hurt?" Jie Long winced at how similar their fist words to the kid had been. Part of him hated to admit it, but they were similar in many ways. The other part wanted to make sure the kid was comfortable before he left him to his master. Xun merely shook his head. "Let's find you a place to sleep." Viper turned her head to Jie Long, opened her mouth to ask a question. He knew what was going to come out of her mouth, but he shook his head. _It was best not to bring up the dead._

Xun's eyes widened, "Wait. Jie Long, aren't you coming?"

He grimsed at the effect this kid had on him. He wanted to say yes, but he couldn't. Not yet, anyways. "Sorry, Xun. I have a few things that need to get done." Xun's face fell and Jie Long's ears fell against his head. _Dammit._ "I'll see you around."

"Promise?"

"Yeah." He said a bit too quickly, "A warrior's promise." His eyes darted to Viper, "Make sure he eats first. It's been _at least_ a day."

She nodded before saying, "We're not done." He nodded in response and she carted Xun off. He watched them vanish through the maze he dared call home. An underground settlement of survivors. _Home sweet home._

 _Shifu._ He could see it now. Shifu would give him a lecture, get his blood going. Every time he heard one of Shifu's lectures it made him angry. Every time he went to the surface he would get one of those damned lectures. _Stay in the nest,_ he would say. _Let the world wither_ , he would imply.

He followed the wall of lit torches. The settlement had a dusty stone floor and a wood support system holding the cave system up. He passed by tunnels leading deeper into the mountain, leading to the survivors of the massacres led by the Regime. He had a guess as to where Shifu would be. The old master spent his time in a conference room of sort. _He was always there._ On rare occasions he would visit the _Great Garden_. Jie Long would make sure to avoid both of these areas.

In fact, he would avoid as much contact as he could. He had already ran into Master Viper, a bit too soon for his own taste. Crane, Shifu, and Daiyu would be absolutely vital for him to avoid before he could gather his bearings. Although, as soon as it was spread that he had returned Daiyu would come looking for him.

Jie Long didn't know much about the old wolf's past himself, but Daiyu felt some kind of commitment to look out for the tiger. It annoyed Jie Long at times, having the wolf twist his own neck just to check on the lad. His father, the Dragon Warrior, had _saved_ him, whatever the wolf ever meant by that Jie Long didn't know. Hopefully he would be able to sneak around avoid contact for a few hours. If anything, Shifu alone was his concern.

Despite the vast space the survivors had claimed, many people still shared space, not that anyone really complained about it. It was better than being dead, after all. Due to that, he shared a room with the only other kung fu student alive. Lily. It made it hard to try and sneak around her, but even she had no idea of his findings on Project Xodara.

He had first found out about the Project on his travels into the valley. The information he had collected on it was very limited, he hadn't the slightest clue of what it actually meant, but he understood that it was important to the Regime. Important enough to have dedicated supply lines. One of which ran through the Valley of Peace.

His immediate goal was to find more information as to the location of the Project, which meant finding the supply line and its destination. That's why he had been in the Valley, to find more information. However, following small patrol groups seemed to be going nowhere.

He pushed open the door, entering his shared room. As of right now, it was empty. _Good._ Inside the room there were two beds on each side of the room. On the left side of the room there was a small bookcase, chest, and desk. On the right there was a dresser and a basket filled with various items, of few of them he collected from the surface. That side was Lily's. He walked to the left, approaching the chest. _This_ was his side. He opened the chest and his paw skimmed by a few items. A small engraved dagger, a jade medallion, and a small staff. He grabbed a rolled up map. He grabbed a few small rocks.

He needed information that only the Regime had access to. He needed to know where the supply line led to and the only way to know that was to do something a bit more risky. He needed a collection of information of Regime Supply Lines and to do that he needed to go into a Regime compound.

Jie Long sat in his desk and stretched the map out across his dusk, pacing small rocks on each corner as a weight of sorts. The dusty, decayed map was of the Valley of Peace. He grit his teeth, scoffing. _My trip to the Valley confirmed it. The supplies route doesn't run through the lower half of the village— no, it runs in the north._ A low growl escaped from his throat. _Dammit, this makes things far more difficult._ Despite the Regime's hold on the village, the lower half was still chaotic. In fact, only the Jade Palace was truly controlled by the Regime. Ever since they took the imperial city they had paid less and less attention to the outlining villages. _They must have a ledger of some kind, but if they did they would keep it under strict protection. At the Palace._

He narrowed his eyes, what was he going to do?

"Hey!" The chipper voice snapped him from his thoughts, startling him. He stiffened up and slowly turned his head to look at her. _It was her._

Lily slithered up closer behind him. "I saw my mother a few moments ago. She was with a young boy, never seen him around before." She slithered up the chair until she was able to be on his eye level. "You brought him back from your to the surface, didn't you?"

He turned his gaze back to the map. "What about it?"

She smiled, "Oh, nothing. Just . . . you brought back a kid of all things."

"I didn't find what I was _originally_ looking for, if that's what you wanted to hear."

Her smile faltered, "You do know I'm not here to torment you, right? I'm just curious." Her eyes darted to the ground before quickly getting back to him. She was nervous. "If you're willing to let a kid tag along, would you mind if I came next time?"

He scoffed, "You? Miss goody-two-shoes? Sorry, I'm having trouble believing you would want to come with me. Aren't you afraid of retribution from Shifu?"

It was her turn to scoff, "Please, he would just yell at me for a few minutes. Besides, I'm getting sick of you being the only one to bring back stuff from the surface." Her face turned serious, losing all semblance of a smile. "Do you think I can't handle it?"

He knew she could handle it. She was strong, whether he liked it or not. "I don't want to be responsible for your well-being."

"I'll stay out of trouble. I promise."

If he was being honest, it wasn't her strength that worried him. Nor was it ability to stay out of sight. No, it was her temperament. He hated the Regime, he killed them at almost every opportunity he got. A lot of the time, there was literally blood on his paws. She, on the other hand, was kind and sweet— alot like her mother. Not being able to kill your opponent in battle may spell disaster.

Reluctantly, he gave in. He nodded to her, showing his approval.

She looked at his map, "What you doing?"

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind for now. "I'm trying to find out where their record of supplies would be kept. I'm thinking that all supplies that come through the Valley need to be registered."

"The Jade Palace seems to be the most defendable area."

He nodded in agreement, "That's what I was thinking." He clenched his fists, "I need that information."

Her eyes widened and she smiled, "You know, you're a lot softer than you give yourself credit for."

His eyes widened in surprise, "Huh?"

"You're collecting supplies for the civilians." A shiver ran down his spine. He had been so fixated on the mysterious Project Xodara that he didn't even think about it. He frowned at the thought. Here he had a mentality of helping others, but he didn't even think about _aiding_ them. "Oh, don't frown like that! Don't worry I won't tell the others of your softness." He didn't tell her about Project Xodara. He didn't tell anyone about it.

The words came from his lips, barely squeezing past his teeth. " _Tomorrow_."

Her eyes widened, "Huh?"

"We'll go tomorrow." He rested his paws against the map. " _We'll go tomorrow._ " He narrowed his eyes, _I suppose we'll see if all those stories are accurate. We'll finally see the Jade Palace for ourselves._


End file.
